The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

Did another edit to add some details about how Minecrafting went this evening, and how much closer I've gotten to The End.

[Vectrex28 | 366]

Alright, back to the Backlog Challenge... Day 2 of Elden Ring starring Chad Thundercock.

Today's been mostly slaying those guards outside of the castle. Died a few times but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Love just ambushing these dumbasses and slicing them apart. Found a huge sword that can off them in one hit if ambushed which is nice, and a map.

Also I can apparently summon some sorta horse to ride on. Gotta try that tomorrow. I prolly need to explore the place a bit more cuz that castle is out of the question, there's some ogre that doesn't seem all that easy to slay in there lol

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

Another update today, and yes, it's about Minecraft again, lol.  Maybe I'll be able to get into something else a bit later.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

I'm enjoying Tokyo Mirage Sessions, though the loading screens are way too frequent. My team also loves to pester me to go on side quests or upgrade their weapon every time I enter a dungeon.

First impressions at chapter three.

The characters are all extremely likable, but the problem is that they're all recycled from every anime you've ever seen. At the same time I've never played an RPG with such a lighthearted and playful tone, and it kind of blurs the line between being unoriginal and something new.

The combat is enjoyable, even if it kind of plays itself at times. It looks complex on the surface until you realize you aren't thinking too hard about it. It's still fun to make the good guys hurt the bad guys though, and there's enough visual flair to make it fun to watch.

Unfortunately there's a lot of padding in this game, worst of which is being unable to upgrade weapons within a dungeon. There are also a bunch of really boring side quests that you're expected to do for character skills, but none of them are fun or interesting.

Overall it's a mixed bag so far, but I'm enjoying it.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Well, I've finally settled on a game after a few false starts.  Been playing Dungeon Magic and am so far enjoying it.  Considering how daunting it seemed at the start, it really isn't all that bad.  I've been following the mail away strategy guide because, well, why not So unlike what every guide online said to do, I chose Water magic to start.  While I do wish I had the maps that Fairy magic provides, my ass was saved more than once by the protection spells.  And now that I have powered up the Earth sword and acquired Earth magic, I can now heal status conditions, which has been the only real drawback for me so far.  Now I'm just chugging along, having just pinged level 6.  Almost nothing on the overworld can damage me (flies are a bitch with their magic, but aren't too tough), so it's not too bad to grind shit out now.  Next up is to acquire the ring of flight and chase the fairy sword, and some armor upgrades along the way.

Seriously though, considering how few true RPGs I have left to beat on the NES, I can't imagine why I left this one so long.  It's pretty freaking awesome so far!

[Sumez | 2,949]

Only a couple days into the new year and we already got a fresh 10/10 contender!

Baba is You - Beaten (100%) 3/1

If you don't know what Baba is You is about - well first of all, what rock have you been sleeping under? Second, go out and get the game now. Either way I'll try to sum up the mechanics, because they are really obnoxiously simple, which is one of the biggest appeals of the game.

At its core, Baba is You is a traditional box pushing puzzle game. Each level has a set of rules written out in simple sentences connected by three (or, later on, more) words. A sentence could be something like "Rock Is Push", "Flag Is Win", "Key Is Open" or of course the eponymous "Baba Is You", which indicates that any Baba on the level (the white four-legged creature on the screenshot) is controlled by the player.
And.. that is pretty much it. The only rule not specifically written out using those ingame text blocks, is the ability to push those text same blocks around in order to alter the rules as you see fit!  But that setup is essentially enough to create what is quite honestly a baffling and completely breathtaking collection of several hundred insanely varied puzzles, where no ideas or patterns ever feel repeated.

Using the examples from before, you could tell the game that now "flag is you", while "key is win", if moving the flag on to the key is a more likely scenario than getting Baba there itself. Of course, your options are limited by the word blocks you actually have access to, and how the currently effective rules are restricting your ability to move them around, in classic puzzle solving fashion! Many levels have rulesets placed just out of your reach, thus making up the predefined mechanics for that specific level, though surprisingly often there are ways to get access to words and rules that might not initially seem accessible.

Although the basic setup feels similar to that of a game like Lolo or Fire'n'Ice, the insane possibilities for combinations of rules end up creating an endless variety of situtations feeling very different in nature, from simply pushing the key into the door, to controlling the very walls of a structure to open a path, or sacrificing your player character in order to make an automated setup create a new one for you - or turning the entire level into a win scenario.
And honestly, that is just scratching the surface. Every sub-world accessible on the world map introduces a whole new bunch of verbs, adjective and nouns which change up the challenges in completely unexpected and often really crazy ways, many of which are so surprising and mind boggling I'd prefer not to spoil them here. It is something you just have to experience!

This also gives each section of the game its own thematic identity, and you're probably more likely to click with some of the puzzles than others. By the time I reached the "Space" levels I felt a bit strained, didn't like the approach a lot of them have, relying a lot on obscure underlying mechanics, and very specific maneuvering of the word blocks, rather than purely creative thinking. My favourite stages are the ones where only very limited moves actually seem to be possible, yet there isn't immediately any obvious way to do what you want, and you really need to think outside the Box to "trick" the game. Fortunately, proceeding further into the game, the puzzles would frequently change nature again, and some of the later ones actually ended up being my favourites!

Due to the simplicity of the rule system, the game often manages to be quite intuitive. There are no straight up tutorials, but most mechanics that can be used in a ruleset are usually easily explained in the first stage they appear, without compromising the challenging appeal of their puzzle. And to be honest, they are often fairly self explanatory anyway.
That said, there is occasionally some experimentation required, since it might be hard to guess exactly how the game reacts to some odd situations. For example, if you push a block into two sets of rules, activating both "Rock Is Grass" and "Rock Is Ghost" at the same time, how will the game handle that? And if an object is both "defeat" and "win", what will happen when you step on it? (hint: It's not to the player's advantage :P). But there is also much more esoteric situations than those, several of which caused me to get stuck simply because I was unaware of some of my options.

I don't think that is by any means a detriment to the game though, but I definitely got stumped on a few levels. Ultimately I ended up only needing my hand held for one single level in the game, but playing many of them, they really do feel impossibly big-brain right out of the gate, and it can be a good approach to postpone some, in order to be able to come back and analyze them with a fresh perspective later on.

Baba bridges the gap between super involving logic puzzles, and a very approachable accessibility. The game is so easy to understand anyone can get drawn into it, but some of the later levels will probably leave you puzzled for upwards of an hour or longer.
Fortunately the world map structure means you can usually make decent progress without needing to solve every puzzle right away, and I think the game is surprisingly adept at never really feeling exhausting the way many other puzzlers of its type do - something also partially owed to how quick most puzzles actually are to solve, once you finally realise its gimmick. And while that alone is enough to ensure Baba a spot at the top, the game just goes above and beyond even then. It keeps tricking you in new ways as you start digging into secrets that you didn't think were even possible, as the game slowly starts to show you its true colors. And it just keeps on giving and giving, and just when you think you've seen it all, it keeps on giving again. And then it goes again some more.
And once you're done with that, there's a whole free included "DLC" pack which introduces a ton of completely new words (and accompanying mechanics).

If you're only ever gonna play one block pushing puzzle solving game, let it be this one. And if you are on the fence about it, check out the old freeware gamejam version of the game. But keep in mind that one is only 13 stages long, quickly over, and only really demonstrates a tiny, *tiny* fraction of the insane ideas exercised in the subsequent full game!
The original game is a fun idea, the eventual commercial version is easily one of the best puzzle game I have ever played!

Edited January 4, 2023 by Sumez

[Reed Rothchild | 9,521]

I'm 70 hours into Elden Ring, and starting my push into the capital.  I *think* I've done almost everything in the rest of the world, but who knows.

I also, to this point, have used zero summons or rune arcs.  I may start busting the latter out though.  Not that I even have some of the great runes (I assume, I'm basing this on the list of names the guy in Round Table Hold mentions).

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Progressing rather steadily in Dungeon Magic.  Got the third sword, and was about to raid the next dungeon only to get bitch slapped by the first enemy...guess it's time to grind a bit.  No big deal, I'll just raid the sky area a bunch to get the next few levels.  The enemies there give decent XP, and they can't seem to hurt me anymore.  I'll be away from my NES this weekend though, so it probably won't get knocked off until next week, but I'm gonna make as much progress as possible before I go...

[Sumez | 2,949]

12 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I also, to this point, have used zero summons or rune arcs. 

Good boy!

The boss of the capital is so satisfying to learn and fight if you don't go in overpowered.

[spacepup | 2,404]

Baba is You is an absolutely fantastic game.  I'm glad to see your response to it because it's exactly the same as mine was.  I've encouraged many people to play this.  It is just an AMAZING, clever, challenging and fun game.

[Sumez | 2,949]

I'm trying to make progress in Live-A-Live, but I keep returning to Baba, playing the included bonus level packs. The "New Adventures" pack is surprisingly sizeable, full of incredible new puzzles which feel like they continue the trend of constantly making new twists to the formula.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

Beat my first Castlevania game. Too bad it was 64. I got the good ending with Reinhardt on normal difficulty. I added the image to the following spoiler just in case.

Spoiler

Man. Not a good game. 5/10. It starts out with a solo violin piece that initially had me excited for the soundtrack, but turned out to be the only piece of music that sticks out in the entire game. Even then, it's only OK in comparison to the tunes from games past.

Platforming is fine, but the fact that you have to hold A for Reinhardt to grab onto edges (when he chooses to) is crap. Hit detection leaves something to be desired, especially on basic enemies like the vampires and werewolves. However, the worst thing about this game is easily the camera. When not fixed or caught on walls, it tends to slowly try and get behind Reinhardt. This makes the more cramped levels, especially the small rooms of the Castle Center level, significantly more difficult. Enemies attack you from off screen and hit you with lots of cheap shots. Sadly, the camera reset button only works sometimes. Even worse, there are three different indistinguishably bad settings for the camera. At least most of the bosses take place in more spacious areas, making the camera less of an issue and the bosses less of a threat.

Thankfully, this game is pretty short (about 10 hours on my initial playthrough), and doesn't overstay its welcome. I can handle jank for 10 hours. The score would have probably been lower if it was longer.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Philosoraptor

[Sumez | 2,949]

@Philosoraptortry out Legacy of Darkness and see if you like it better! The differences are subtle, but were enough for the game to feel much more smooth to me. It's still janky, but on a level that allowed me to enjoy the game a whole lot more. The camera isn't much better, but it feels less urgent to get it behind your character.

Also be sure to play it in the low res setting, as the framerate of the high res one (using the ram expansion pak) makes it near unplayable even though it does look better. 

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Well, progression wasn't as much today as I had hoped, only clearing a single additional dungeon.  The next dungeon is the underwater one, and is a huge jump in difficulty,  so I spent most of the couple hours I played today gaining levels.  Just pinged level 12, though I'm thinking I'll gain a few more, just to play it safe.  Most of my dungeon runs to this point have had me barely able to take damage, and since I have all the best possible gear to this point in the game, I can either level up or rush through the dungeons.  And I hate rushing  

[spacepup | 2,404]

I'm making good progress on Panel de Pon (SNES JP), there are just SO MANY PUZZLES so it takes a while hahah.  I love the game so I'm definitely gonna finish it this year - that will be pretty satisfying.  

I'm also making good progress in Control, and I added Alan Wake to my backlog list because I meant to include it - still haven't played that! 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,521]

Lots of carryover from 2022:

1. Uncharted 4 - 90% done
2. Elden Ring - 80%(?) done
3. Nier Automata - 25% done
4. Etrian Odyssey 2 - 75% done
5. Ace Attorney 2 - 75% done
6. Winback - 25% done

I don't know how in the world I ended up playing so many games at once, but some of these date back to August.

Should have Uncharted wrapped up this weekend, and then I'll probably focus on Winback.  Elden Ring I'm trying to draw out because I don't want the experience to end.  Etrian is brutal with the roadblocks, so I'll probably have to reserve some time to grind while watching a movie or three.

[spacepup | 2,404]

That's a super fun list there!

I kinda did the same thing last year - started a bunch of games but didn't do very well finishing them.

Nier Automata is one I need to finish.  Nier is one of my favorite games ever, and while I'm somewhere in the middle of Automata, I never finished it!  I guess I should have added that to my list doh!  

Uncharted 4 is good, definitely finish that.  

Good luck with everything!  2023 is the year to make good progress

[Gloves | 11,776]

Instead of playing games on my list I'm playing Shadow of Mordor. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,521]

6 minutes ago, spacepup said:

That's a super fun list there!

I kinda did the same thing last year - started a bunch of games but didn't do very well finishing them.

Nier Automata is one I need to finish.  Nier is one of my favorite games ever, and while I'm somewhere in the middle of Automata, I never finished it!  I guess I should have added that to my list doh!  

Uncharted 4 is good, definitely finish that.  

Good luck with everything!  2023 is the year to make good progress

Yeah, lots gonna happen this year, thanks to certain allowances with the schedule that happen to be in place.

Replicant will go on the 2024 list for sure.  I had always wanted to play Nier but I never managed to run across a copy.

[Lago | 220]

18 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Instead of playing games on my list I'm playing Shadow of Mordor. 

Anyone else call into this trap?  Instead of playing games on my backlog I’m currently playing Euyclidian Chronicles and MTG Arena.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,521]

31 minutes ago, Lago said:

Anyone else call into this trap?  Instead of playing games on my backlog I’m currently playing Euyclidian Chronicles and MTG Arena.

No, because I preemptively included all of the temptation games up front 

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

I don't see it as an issue.  I made my list as a shortlist when I can't decide what to play.  It doesn't preclude me from playing anything else, just a way to make the decision a bunch easier when I have nothing in mind.  Play what you want, and hit the backlog when nothing stands out and grabs you.

[Jaden | 151]

I've finished my first game of the year! Starting off with an all time classic, it's Super Mario Bros. 3! I managed to beat the game in one sitting, which I'm really happy about. I was initially going to use warps as a way to kinda save my progress, since this game has no saves or passwords. But I figured it would be much cooler to finish the whole game without warps. And while world 8 was absolute hell to get through, I'm really happy I beat this one. I'm thinking I'll do something more simple for the next game, like a scrolling shooter. Maybe Star Soldier? We'll see.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,521]

On 12/4/2022 at 4:34 AM, Sumez said:

Mario & Luigi Dream Team Bros (3DS) - 40H

That time is no lie.  That game goes on forever.  I don't know what they were thinking drawing it out like that.

 

I spent tonight playing Etrian Odyssey 2 while watching a movie.  That game is an asshole.  But I busted down yet another mean boss.  27 floors down, 8 to go.

[Floating Platforms | 715]

First backlog game of the year is down and it's one that's been on the backlog for the shortest amount of time.

I wasn't originally planning to get a PS5 this early, but I caved when I saw them in stock on the PS direct store and it became an impulse buy present to myself (as much as something with this price point can be an "impulse").

Anyway, Astro's Playroom is the pre-loaded "pack-in" game with the system and I knew I wanted that to be my first platinum on the system. I played the main story with my brother over the holidays and spent last night cleaning up the random trophies that were left.

What an incredibly charming, well-executed experience this was.  Not only does it work to showcase the new capabilities of the PS5 and its controller, but it's also a tight, well-rounded 3D platformer.  The difficulty isn't present, but that's a good thing in this specific case. If this were ever to be expanded to be a much longer full game, I would complain if it were all still this easy.  For this short playthrough that's meant to let all people see everything, it works. And there's plenty to see with tons of easter eggs and references played out by the little robots.  It's a great celebration of Playstation's history and a great game.

I've also realized that to meet all my goals, I'd basically have to average a game each week, so...oops. Good thing there are some short ones on there to help out. I'm very nearly done with Bioshock and Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton and I'm about halfway done with Piczle Cross Adventure. I might also try to knock out one of the shorter PS4 games on my list to keep momentum up.